King's Chronicles

The internet is abuzz with the talk of a movie based on the first two books of Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos. At the forefront of this discussion is the proposed format for the movie. These first two books of the series, Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, are two of my sci-fi favorite books, featuring a delicious blend of science fiction and classic literature (specifically The Canterbury Tales). Needless to say I am horrified at the thought of combining both books into one movie. To do it properly would take an effort on the scale of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. Unfortunately, I do not think there is a large enough fan base for a movie studio to greenlight that kind of production.

As time goes by, I find myself wanting less to see my favorite science fiction books turned into movies.

Last year I listened to a borrowed copy of The Teaching Company's audio lecture Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition. If you are a fan of audio books I highly recommend Teaching Company lectures. This particular lecture is quite an experience. Split into 84 half-hour lectures, it covers authors from the unknown writers of the Epic of Gilgamesh all the way up to Samuel Beckett. It took me about four months to make it through the entire series, listening in the car and during dinner.

What surprised me is that the lecture on James Joyce discussed A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man instead of Ulysses. I had always heard what a great book Ulysses was and I remembered back in 2000 that many surveys voted Ulysses as the greatest work of literature of the 20th Century. So why would this lecture about James Joyce not cover Ulysses? The final lecture in the series provided my answer. The final thesis of the lecture series was that 6000 years of western literature could be summed up in Ulysses. Through the use of various writing styles, Joyce's retelling of Homer's Odyssey represents many aspects of the history of western literature. So, the lecture on Joyce did not cover Ulysses because the entire series was really covering what went into the writing of Joyce's classic. My reaction was "Well, I guess I need to read Ulysses."

So here I am, taking on this daunting task of reading one of the most notoriously difficult books in literature. Inspired by the Blogging the Bible series at Salon.com, I decided I would blog my experience with reading Ulysses. After reading Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow several years ago I knew I would need some guide to fully appreciate Ulysses. So I went out and found some help:

• Joyce's Ulysses - Another audio lecture from The Teaching Company
• The Bloomsday Book - Loaned to me by my grandmother who once took a graduate level course on James Joyce

My first post following this one will be an introduction to the novel. It will provide the background of Ulysses and an overview of how it relates to Homer's Odyssey. Thereafter I will do one blog post per chapter of the book. I am very excited about both reading Ulysses and writing about it. I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say and follow along with my journey.

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

This line opens William Gibson's cyberpunk classic Neuromancer. In one line it sums up Gibson's vision of the future and is considered by many to be one of the great opening lines of science fiction literature.

Neuromancer is the story of Case, a computer hacker who makes his living breaking into computer systems for his employers. In Neuromancer, Case is coerced by a mysterious employer into participating in the ultimate computer crime; hacking an artificial intelligence. As time goes by, however, Case begins to learn that not everything is what is seems as well as the shocking truth of who is really pulling the strings.

While Case is the main character, there is little argument that the most interesting character in Neuromancer is Molly. Molly is a former prostitute who has paid to have herself re-engineered to be a bodyguard. Razor-sharp blades extend from beneath her fingernails and she has mirrored lenses permanently grafted over her eye sockets. In a wonderful bit of imagery we learn that her tear ducts have been routed into her mouth, forcing her to spit instead of cry. It is the development of Molly's character that we watch as Case remains rather one dimensional. To prove my point I cite the fact that Molly is the only character in the book to have her own Wikipedia page.

Neuromancer, along the with other books in Gibson's Sprawl trilogy (Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive), are considered THE definitive examples of cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is a genre of science fiction that usually combines the high-tech world of computers combined with the hardships of poverty and destitution. The other books in the Sprawl trilogy are not as action-packed as Neuromancer, but instead focus more on the philosophical issues with artificial intelligence and what it means to be an intelligent being. While not as popular as Neuromancer, they are good reads.

Along with Starship Troopers, Neuromancer is one of the books I read repeatedly (probably about once a year). It is a quick read and is always entertaining. I pick it up whenever I am not sure what I am in the mood to read and need something to tide me over for a couple of days. Obviously this puts toward the top of my list of favorite books and means I cannot recommend it enough for science fiction fans.

Via SF Signal, I see that fantasy author Lloyd Alexander has died. While I would never call myself a fan, I would consider his Chronicles of Prydain to be my introduction into fantasy. I remember ordering The Book of Three in fifth grade from one of those book order brochures we would get every couple of months. Also the final book in the series, The High King, was on the approved list of book reports in my fifth grade English class. I had to finish the book in the car on the way home from my grandparents' house Memorial Day weekend. If I remember correctly I had to do my book report in the car as well.

So, thank you Mr. Alexander, for The Book of Three and my interest in fantasy.

The Fountains of Paradise is the second book by Arthur C. Clarke on my science fiction reading list. It tells the story of the construction of mankind's first space elevator set against the background of a world just coming to grips with its potential for growth.

The first half of the book takes place mostly on a small island in the Indian Ocean; a fictional version of Sri Lanka. Clarke tells the story of the history of the island while his main character explains why it is the ideal location for a space elevator. This part of the story revolves around the political and social battles surrounding the elevator's construction.

The second half of The Fountains of Paradise deals with the actual construction of the elevator. There is a lot of hard science in the latter half of the novel, with the story taking a back seat to technical discussions of weather and orbital mechanics. Do not be afraid though, the science is both interesting and relatively easy to digest.

My overall impressions of the novel are mixed. I felt it jumped around a lot between the history of the island and the book's "present". While knowing the history of the island added to the social conflict of the story, I had difficulty following it until one of the modern day characters summarized it all in a few paragraphs.

In addition, Clarke also forces in a story line about first contact with an alien race. It does not add much to the overall story; it only explains the death of religion that has taken place in the back story of The Fountains of Paradise. In the end, I get the feeling that Clarke had a couple of different ideas that never made it into books of their own and, instead, just joined them together to make this one.

Related Links

• The Hugo-Nebula Project
• Book Review: Rendezvous with Rama

I have seen this meme floating around for a couple of weeks, so I figured I would take a wack at it. If you would like to hear my impressions on any of the books I have read then leave me a comment.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a 10 foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
+5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
+6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
+7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
*10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)

11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
*14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
*17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

+21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
+22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
*24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
+26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
+28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)

+31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
+33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
*39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
*42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
*43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
+45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)

51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
+54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
*56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)

+61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
+62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
*65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch–22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint–Exupery)

71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
*72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
+76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
*79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)

*81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
*83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
*88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)

*91. In The Skin Of a Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Most people take a break from classic literature by reading something light, like science fiction. I seem to be doing the opposite; taking a break from science fiction by reading classic literature. In this case it was Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. As the literary inspiration for the movie Apocalypse Now, I have wanted to read this for quite sometime. So when I had a break between reading Forever Peace and Dreamsnake I decided to give it a go.

Heart of Darkness is based on the real life experiences of the author, Joseph Conrad, as he worked as a steam boat captain in the Belgian Congo. Conrad was so horrified by what he witnessed there that he resigned soon after his first voyage. However, Heart of Darkness is a work of fiction and only resembles Conrad’s actual experiences in its depiction of life in the Congo Free State and the exploitation of the Congo in the late 19th Century.

The story is narrated by Marlow, a fictional version of Conrad in his sailing days who appears in several of Conrad’s works. To entertain his passengers while waiting to set sail from London, Marlow spins the tale of his experience skippering a steam boat in Africa. Although he never mentions the Congo Free State directly, it is well understood to be the locale of the story. As Marlow is preparing this boat for its first trip upriver he describes what life in the Congo. For the European traders, the day to day routine consists of exploiting the local population while making your political moves to secure a better position. This backstabbing is all in the hope of finding a source of ivory and thus receiving a commission.

During the time it takes to repair his boat, Marlow slowly begins to hear rumors of a man named Kurtz. Kurtz manages the very last station on the river and has become famous for his ability to gather far more ivory than any other trader on the river. As contact is lost with Kurtz, Marlow receives this first assignment. He his to transport a group to the last station on the river and discover what has happened to Kurtz.

The voyage up the river is a slow decent into chaos and madness. Office politics and bickering soon turn into paranoia and fear as the boat gets farther from the base camp and closer to Kurtz’s station. The climax of the book is reached as Marlow’s boat arrives at the station and we discover not only what happened to Kurtz to make him drop out of contact, but also how he has managed to gather more ivory than anyone had even dreamed possible.

Heart of Darkness is a short book (my copy was only 75 pages), that keeps you engaged. However, sometimes the the narrative style can be a little confusing so do not be afraid to re-read some paragraphs to make sure you do not miss anything. The themes of this book are used repeatedly throughout literature and film. I have even found some similarities in Vonda McEntyre’s Dreamsnake from my science fiction list. Now I can not wait to re-watch Apocalypse Now.

I waited to review Joe Haldeman's Forever War until I also finished Forever Peace. Although Forever Peace is not a true sequel, Haldeman does see it as a continuation of the themes he started in Forever War.

Forever War
In Forever War, Haldeman tells the story of a great war between mankind and a mysterious alien race. What makes Haldeman's story stand out from other novels with a similar story is that mankind has not mastered faster-than-light travel. So as the soldiers in the war spend a few weeks on a campaign, hundreds of years pass on Earth. Every time they come home they are confronted with drastic changes in humanity and forced further into alienation.

Forever War is an excellent blend of action and thoughtful reflection. In this way it reminds me a lot of Heinlein's Starship Troopers. As the story progresses you begin to truly understand the real toll it is taking on the main characters and the price they pay for the war.

Forever Peace
As I mentioned earlier, Forever Peace is not a true sequel to Forever War. Forever Peace takes place in the near future as the technologically advanced nations of Earth are at war with the third-world. The main character is drafted into the army as a "mechanic", the remote operator of a robotic fighting machine. He spends nine days at at time connected to his machine as well as maintaining a telepathic link to the other soldiers in his platoon. The themes started in Forever War are continued here as Haldeman show the progressing sense of alienation and guilt by the soldiers involved in the war.

Unfortunately it seems to me that Haldeman loses his way about halfway through the book. At this point the threat of a doomsday weapon is revealed and the characters must unite humanity to thwart it. I did not mind the change in focus so much, but it feels like Haldeman changed writing styles. Whereas the first half of the books is told from the perspective of the main character, the second half jumps from character to character and back and forth between first and third person. Also large parts of the story are told strictly in a narrative style with little dialog. I get the feeling that the second half of the novel was rushed.

Conclusion
Do not let my perceptions of Forever Peace dissuade you, both are excellent books. Both are well written and really make you feel for the characters. In addition, It is interesting to see how Haldeman's themes evolved during the years between these two books.

Related Posts

• The Hugo-Nebula Project

Another book on my science fiction reading list, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis took me completely by surprise. The premise is simple, a scientist is sent back in time to study the society of the middle ages. I felt like I had heard this story a million times, so I had pretty low expectations going in. Fortunately I was wrong.

A scientist is sent back in time to a village in the middle ages. Of course, something goes wrong and she becomes trapped in the past. Meanwhile, in the present, a sudden flu outbreak prevents her co-workers from mounting a rescue.

There are two main reasons for why I enjoyed this book so much. The first is the science background of the story. The science used to tell the story is subtle, yet well thought out. This applies to how the main character is prepared for her trip into the past as well as the actual technique of time travel. As you read the book, it has you believing this is how a time travel program like this would actually work.

The other reason I have for enjoying Doomsday Book is the outstanding character development. Both the future and past story lines have characters you connect with. This is especially true in the past story line where Willis presents characters that reflect their bitter poverty and at the same time are real, multi-dimensional people.

So far this has been my favorite book on my reading list. I will definitely looking for more books by Connie Willis to read.

Related Posts

• The Hugo-Nebula Project

Variety is reporting the HBO has acquired the rights to George R. R. Martin's fantasy series "A Song of Fire & Ice". This has to be one of the best bits of news I have heard in a long time. Being a fan of HBO's Rome, now in its second season, I can definitely see how this will work. From the Variety article:

The series will begin with the 1996 first book, "A Game of Thrones," and the intention is for each novel (they average 1,000 pages each) to fuel a season's worth of episodes.

"A Song of Fire & Ice" is one of my favorite series so this is great news. The article also reveals that the series will have a total of seven books (Martin is currently finishing book 5) finishing sometime in 2011.

In addition to my current reading project, one of my ongoing goals is to re-read books from my high school English classes that I feel I was too immature to enjoy at that time. I feel strongly that reading is ruined for many high school students by forcing on them books they are not ready to enjoy. For me, the first of these books is Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Crime and Punishment was part of the curriculum for my 12th grade English class. Not only did I feel I was not quite getting it, I did not even finish the book. This is partly due to it being a difficult book to read, but also because I had to read a book for a term paper (for the same English class) at the same time. I decided getting my term paper done was more important. Although difficult, I did enjoy the story of Crime and Punishment and knew even then that I would revisit the book some day. I finally decided to take up this challenge and I finished the book this past December.

The story focuses on a Russian student named Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov believes that certain people (himself included) are destined to do great things, and therefore should not be constrained by the same laws as everyone else. To prove his theory he sets out to commit the perfect murder. Crime and Punishment follows his crime and he consequences he and those around him face as he deals with his guilt.

When I mentioned earlier that the book was difficult, do not misunderstand me. I say it is difficult primarily because of the Russian names and places. This is compounded by the characters being referred to by either their first or last names interchangeably throughout the book. The story itself is easy to follow and is very entertaining.

[Warning, possible spoiler below.]

When I set out the read Crime and Punishment again, I was hoping to find at least one aspect of the book that escaped me back in high school. I was successful. After committing his crime, Raskolnikov becomes very ill, both physically and mentally. In high school I interpreted this as manifestation of his guilt. He felt guilty, so he got sick. This time around I realized this was not the case.

According to his theory, Raskolnikov's superiority to others means that he should not feel guilt over his crime. Instead of throwing out his theory, Raskolnikov comes to believe that he is not one of the elite that are beyond the law. Instead, he is just like everyone else in the slums of St. Petersburg. It is this realization of being ordinary that induces his sickness and pushes him to the edge of madness.

It is exactly this type of re-interpretation that motivated me to pick up Crime and Punishment again after so many years.

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (hereafter just Rama) was the third book in my project to read the Hugo and Nebula award-winning books. Although it was the third, it is the book I would like to talk about first since I think it is an excellent example of how science fiction has changed over the years.

Rama is the story of an artifact of unknown origin that comes sailing through our solar system. Earth has only a finite amount of time to launch a mission of exploration to uncover the artifact's secrets. The story spends some time on the political aspects of the discovery of an alien spacecraft, but focuses on the men and women who board and explore it. Clarke uses descriptions of the alien habitat to provide clues to the characters and reader about the nature of the spacecraft and its builders.

Unfortunately, this is the limit of the book's creativity. The plot itself is rather simple. The real entertainment stems from trying to use Clarke's clues to decipher the spacecraft's operation before the characters in the book. In many ways it reminded me of Larry Niven's Ringworld where the plot was pretty thin, but it was a detailed tour of a completely alien environment.

So, despite a relatively simple plot I recommend Rendezvous with Rama as a scientific mystery novel. What I wonder is if this style of novel would still be popular today. With rovers on Mars and the special effects we see in movies and on television, are we still be impressed by the narrative description of an alien world?

The Hugo and Nebula are the two primary awards for outstanding science fiction. The Hugo is voted on by fans at the World Science Fiction Convention while the Nebula is voted on by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. In essence, winning the Hugo means the work is very entertaining while winning the Nebula means it is well written.

Last year, after being frustrated with the science fiction section at my local book store, I decided to compile and read the list of books that have won both awards. I figured by reading each of these books I would be guaranteed both an entertaining and rewarding experience. Thus the Hugo-Nebula Project would begin.


The books that have won both the Hugo and Nebula awards are:

• Dune, Frank Herbert **
  
• The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuin *
  
• Ringworld, Larry Niven **
  
• The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov *
  
• Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke *
  
• The Dispossessed, Ursula K. LeGuin
• The Forever War, Joe Haldeman *
  
• Gateway, Frederik Pohl **
  
• Dreamsnake, Vonda McIntyre
• The Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke
• Startide Rising, David Brin **
  
• Neuromancer, William Gibson **
  
• Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card **
  
• Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card **
  
• Doomsday Book, Connie Willis *
  
• Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman
  
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman *
  
• Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold *
  

* Books I have finished
** Books I had read before starting

I have not been disappointed with the quality of the books on this list and have enjoyed all of those I have read so far.

Updated: Finished The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov
Updated 2007-03-01: Finished Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold